Category: Mike Brown

Two Minneapolis police officers shot Clark, claiming he “interfered” with emergency responders helping an assault victim. Activists and witnesses maintain that Clark was unarmed and handcuffed when he was shot.

So far, PDX Police Bureau officers have been provided with a license to kill at will, even unarmed citizens, without accountability. This is the signal that various mayors and PDX City Councils have delivered over the last 20 years.

“These problems aren’t rare, they aren’t isolated, and they are taking an enormous human and financial toll on our country. If we are to ever properly address this problem, we cannot do so if we do not honestly admit its expansive size, scope and depth.”

Even the lead investigator says that this was unjustified, yet these two cops are still out on the street, “protecting and serving.” So turn the brutal, rusty, and bloody cogs of the American justice system.

Some cases are more clear-cut than others, but all of them raise questions about the use of force — like shooting to kill — in policing. They also prompt scrutiny of how cops confront people with mental illnesses:

“…Within two seconds of the car’s arrival, Officer Loehmann shot Tamir in the abdomen from point-blank range, raising doubts that he could have warned the boy three times to raise his hands, as the police later claimed.”

“We must secure the peace, seek justice, reduce munitions, and preserve freedom while restoring civil rights at home, and international collaboration abroad. We can restore infrastructure, revitalize our people and build bridges to a sustainable future.”